Paradise or Prison?
by Zyrorai
Summary: Two boys live on Destiny Islands, but when the girl arrives, their ways of thinking diverges. A character study of Riku, Sora, and Kairi.


Disclaimer: Not mine! Definitely not mine! Characters and places don't belong to me!

IMPORTANT: Okay, this is based off the whole Destiny Islands thing and cave in the beginning of the game. However, I've kind of altered some personalities and junk. Consider it more of a character study than sticking to the facts of the game. Read and enjoy.

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Destiny Islands: Paradise or Prison?

At first, they went there to seek adventure. They imagined that a vicious, dangerous monster dwelled in that dark place, coming out at night to feast on little children like themselves. The complete lack of disappearances among their neighbors did nothing to dissuade their hopes for danger and mystery. Rather, it only made them decide to explore the cave and see for themselves. After all, they were just two restless young boys, no older than ten. They both agreed that it only made sense for their island to have at least one thing mysterious on it.  

The two young boys lived on a tropical island, so tiny that it was uncharted, in the middle of an ocean that stretched for miles in every which way. Blessed with a warm, humid climate with refreshing rainstorms and juicy fruits that could be newly picked for lunch, the island was a paradise in the very sense of the word. Clear salt water lapped in waves against a white sand beach, palm and date trees provided food and shade, and seagulls and fish provided the wildlife. Amazingly enough, the island also lacked the various tropical bugs that might make such a place uncomfortable. No, their island was truly a paradise, the kind that people might dream of, but never find…at least in normal circumstances. 

The younger boy of the two was called Sora. One could say that he was more than a little reckless, but it was born out of a boyish enthusiasm. Optimistic and eager, he had the utmost faith in his friends and didn't truly think that they would, or even could, change. He loved his home, a tropical paradise, and never considered going away. 

The older boy was called Riku. He really wasn't that much older, certainly no more than a year. The more cautious of the two, he was not about to rush headlong into a mysterious cave, but in a way, he, too, was hoping for adventure. He wanted to see new places, new people—he wanted to leave the tiny island. To him, it was a prison, locking him away from the outside world. 

The island was isolation itself. It had all the markings of a small town in any other part of the world, but the lowest possible chance of anyone new washing up on the shore. Everyone knew each other, for there could not have been more than thirty people in all. At the same time, however, no one knew how their ancestors had originally got there. Time or unhappy chance had erased all knowledge of an outside world. Only the vague instinct that there was _something_ out there beyond all that water remained. The islanders were, for the most part, happy with their home. Why would Riku eventually leave a paradise? One could say that it was, at least partially, _her_ fault. 

No one knew where she came from or how. She was definitely a mystery to all of the islanders, an enigma and a curiosity. One day, she was found washed up on the sandy shore, her strange red hair all matted, her strange clothes in tatters, and her strange pale skin blending in with the sand. At first, they didn't know what to make of her. Surely she was human, but she wasn't like _them_. The girl couldn't have been more than nine years old when they found her washed up on the shore like another piece of driftwood. For a long time, nobody talked about anything but her. She was the center of the island's attention and gossip. But the girl kept to herself after her recovery. She often stared out over the vast expanse of ocean from atop a house, knees tucked up to her chest. Or, she went down to the water's edge and waded out to her waist before turning back, disappointed. She couldn't let go of her past, the life she had lost. She clung to it like a life-preserver, but it was always slipping out of her arms. She wanted it back more than anything else, but the islanders could not understand why.

Riku showed interest in the girl the moment he heard word of her. There was always the indistinct feeling of bars around him, but now that she, a girl from the outside had arrived, Riku could almost taste the iron cage. She was the proof of an outside world. To Riku, she was all of the places and people, all of his hopes and dreams. Sora was dragged along in Riku's near-obsession, though he saw her differently. For Sora, she was a person to wonder about and talk with now, not a vision of a future. 

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The island featured a mountain jutting from the center. Well, it wasn't really a mountain, just a darkly colored plateau rising out of trees and foliage, but the people on the island had never known anything else. Cutting into the side of the mountain/plateau was the cave that Sora and Riku decided to explore a week after the girl had arrived. Quite possibly, everyone on the island, at one point or another, had gone to explore this self-same cave, but Sora and Riku went to check it out anyway. Who knew what sort of dangerous beasts lurked there?

"There's definitely something in there," said Sora decisively. He and Riku stood right outside the cave, as if on the edge of a precipice. "Can't you hear it growling?" 

Both of the boys leaned forward to try to hear. There did seem to be a strange whooshing noise of some sort coming from the inside of the cave. Riku frowned. 

"Do you think we can take it on, Sora? Just the two of us?"

"Of course we can! Let's go!" Sora ducked under a tree branch and entered the cave. After a moment of hesitation, Riku followed. 

At first it seemed as though they had entered a narrow tunnel, since their hands could easily brush the sides when their arms were outstretched. It was dark, especially after a few steps away from the entrance. The blackness pressed against their eyes, and it was difficult to tell whether they were open or shut. The ground was made of stone, strange to their calloused bare feet. Now that they were in the tunnel, both of them could definitely hear the whooshing noise. 

"It must be close," whispered Sora. It had been several minutes since they had entered the tunnel. "Wait, do you see a light coming from up ahead?"

"It's sort of dim, and far off…," Riku frowned again, even though Sora couldn't see it. "Do you think the monster's making that?"

"What else could it be? It must be sleeping, let's sneak up on it."

The next few minutes were tense as the two boys crept forward toward the growing noise and light. Riku was starting to sweat from the small space that the tunnel provided. The very walls seemed to be pressing in around him, maybe the ceiling would even collapse before they managed to get to the end or get out.

Finally, the tunnel opened up to a small, oval shaped cave. There was not, as they had believed, a monster in here at all. In fact, it looked quite regular and ordinary. The cave only featured gray, bumpy stone walls that were uneven in places. Both boys let out a sigh of relief, though neither would ever admit it to the other. 

"See? It was just the wind was making that noise," said Riku, pointing upward, where there was a small hole in the ceiling of the cave. "And the light came from that hole. You can even see the sky."

Sora kicked the ground in disappointment. "Awww, I wanted it to be a monster!"

"Well, what did you expect in a boring place like this?" Suddenly, Riku made a decision. It was almost like he had meant to say it all along. "Sora, when we're older, let's get off this island! We'll go on real adventures, not this kiddy stuff!"

Sora looked uncomfortable. "Sure…but isn't there anything interesting to do right now?" He paused, looking at his friend who was lost in thought. "Hey, did you hear about that girl? She arrived that night of the meteor shower!"

"Hmmm? Oh, right. Her." Riku still appeared to be doing some thinking. "That's right, she just washed up about a week ago. Do you think we can go visit her?" 

Sora looked happier, now that his friend sounded more like his old self. "Why, not? Let's go try!"

Sora turned and walked back toward the entrance of the tunnel, dismissing it immediately and entirely. Riku followed, but stopped at the edge. He looked back at the plain stone walls, the gray floor, and the ceiling with the hole in it. He thought of the island, with its perfect palm and date trees, with its clear water and white sand. With disgust, he thought of the same boring people who were content to stay on this same boring island. 

Quietly, under his breath, he said to himself, "When I grow up, I'm getting off this island. No matter what."

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!


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